I write with some (much-needed) good news from the Institute for Justice, where—though socially distanced—our fight for constitutional rights has not missed a beat. We learned this morning that IJ is headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a virtual order released this morning, the Court granted review of a cutting-edge IJ case: Brownback v. King. This case is one of the opening salvos in our new Project on Immunity and Accountability <[link removed]>, which IJ launched in January to ensure that all government officials are required to follow the Constitution. Our client is James King, who was an innocent college student when he was mistaken for a petty thief and beaten and choked to within an inch of his life by plainclothes state and federal law enforcement agents. When they realized their mistake, the officers doubled down, charging James with felonies for “resisting arrest” and trying to defend himself from what he thought was a mugging. You can read more about the case in IJ’s press release <[link removed]> and view the shocking live video of this incident here <[link removed]>.

Fighting to clear his name bankrupted James’ family and nearly ruined the young man’s life. He was ultimately acquitted of all charges in court, but the officials who so egregiously violated his rights are yet again trying to evade responsibility—this time by claiming that, because they were acting as part of a joint federal-state task force, James has no legal avenue for holding them accountable. The Supreme Court will now decide whether to increase, decrease, or leave unchanged the accountability faced by government officers who violate the Constitution—with wide-ranging effects on individual rights.

In these stressful and uncertain times, rest assured that IJ considers defending individual liberty an essential activity. If you’d like to help us keep our fight going strong, please consider making a tax-deductible donation <[link removed]> to IJ.

Scott

Scott G. Bullock
President and General Counsel
Institute for Justice

Donate Today <[link removed]>

This email was sent to [email protected]. If you no longer wish to receive these emails you may unsubscribe here: [link removed].